Ivan Ustinovich Kharchenko (; 23 September 1918 – 1 July 1989) was a

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

military engineering Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics b ...

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

. During World War II, he was a platoon commander. Kharchenko was promoted to the rank of

junior lieutenant Junior lieutenant is a junior officer rank in several countries, comparable to Sub-lieutenant. Germany In East Germany's National People's Army, the rank of () was introduced in 1956 and used until German reunification in 1990. Eastern Europe ...

in 1939,

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1943 and senior lieutenant in 1944. He reportedly personally defused more than 50,000 explosives, including bombs, mines, and shells. For his actions in defusing explosives, Kharchenko was named a

and awarded the Gold Star and

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

on 2 November 1944. In the citation for the

award, it was stated that Kharchenko personally defused more than 1500 bombs weighing more than 500 kilograms each and 25,000 other explosive objects. After World War II, Kharchenko continued his military service until retirement in 1964. Until 1956 he was personally engaged in rendering innocuous explosive items left over from World War II. In March 1961, the battalion commanded by Kharchenko led a rescue operation after the

Kurenivka mudslide The Kurenivka mudslide occurred on 13 March 1961 in Kyiv, then a city in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union. It took place near the historic Babi Yar ravine, which had been the site of the mass murder of more th ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Early life

Ivan Kharchenko was born on 23 September 1918 in Komarovka village of Nizhyn Uyezd in the

Chernigov Governorate Chernigov Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. It was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Little Russia Governorate (1796-1802), Little Russia Governorate and had its capital in Cher ...

, to a peasant family. He graduated from seven classes and worked as a factory carpenter in

Khimki Khimki (, ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located approximately northwest from central Moscow, and is part of the Moscow metropolitan area. History Origins and formation Khimki was initially a railway station that had existed sin ...

. In 1938, Kharchenko joined the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

World War II

In 1941 Kharchenko became under-lieutenant and a platoon commander in the 22 Detached Engineering and anti-gas battalion of Local Anti-Aircraft Defence troops. In 1942 he came back to the unit where he had served in non-commissioned positions — to the 6th Engineering and anti-gas regiment of the NKVD antiaircraft defense troops. He helped to defuse more than 26,000 German shells, mines and bombs during the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

and the

Battle of Kiev (1943) The Second Battle of Kiev was a part of a much wider Soviet offensive in Ukraine known as the Battle of the Dnieper involving three strategic operations by the Soviet Red Army and its Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak units and one operational cou ...

. On 2 November 1944, he was awarded the title

and the

for his actions in defusing unexploded ordnance and mines.

Postwar

After the end of World War II, Kharchenko defused more than 16,000 unexploded bombs, as well as other explosive devices. In 1950, he graduated from the High Officers' Engineering School in Moscow. In 1964, Kharchenko left military service and worked in the Ministry of Assembly and Special Construction Works in Kyiv until his retirement in 1986. He died on 1 July 1989 and is buried in the Berkovetskaya Cemetery.

Military service

* 1938–1941 — 31st detached Engineering and Anti-gas battalion of the local Anti-Aircraft Defence troops, NKVD (

Zaporizhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia has a population of ...

), cadet, squad leader, company's petty officer * 1941 — the junior lieutenants courses in Leningrad Command school of the head department of Military Engineering, cadet * 1941–1942 — 22nd detached Engineering and Anti-gas battalion of the local Anti-Aircraft Defence troops, NKVD ( Gorky), a platoon leader * 1942–1943 — 31st detached Engineering and Anti-gas battalion of the local Anti-Aircraft Defence troops, NKVD (

Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

), a platoon leader * 1943–1945 — 6th Engineering and Anti-gas regiment of the local Anti-Aircraft Defence troops, NKVD (

), a platoon leader * 1945–1951 — 6th Engineering and Anti-gas regiment of the local Anti-Aircraft Defence troops, Interior Ministry (

), a company commander * 1951–1955 — 3rd detachment of the local Anti-Aircraft Defence troops, Interior Ministry (

), commander of a pyrotechnical team * 1955–1956 — 6th Engineering and Anti-gas regiment of the local Anti-Aircraft Defence troops, Interior Ministry (

), commander of a pyrotechnical service * 1956–1960 — 6th Engineering and Anti-gas regiment of the local Anti-Aircraft Defence troops, Interior Ministry (

), a battalion commander of engineers * 1960–1962 — 120th Detached Engineering and Anti-gas regiment of the local Anti-Aircraft Defence troops, Soviet Army, Kyiv Military District (

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

), a battalion commander of engineers * 1962–1964 — Headquarters of the Civil Defence of Ukrainian SSR (

), officer in charge of combat training organisation

Honors

(2 November 1944) *

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

, First Class *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

Medal for Battle Merit A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad" The Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad" () was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union. Medal history The Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad" was established on December 22, 1942 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet o ...

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union established on May 9, 1945, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote military partici ...

* Honoured Member of the Interior Ministry of the USSR

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kharchenko, Ivan Ustinovich 1918 births 1989 deaths Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner People from Chernigov Governorate Soviet military personnel of World War II from Ukraine Soviet colonels